Insights, Strategy & the Idea
While Best Buy has long been a technology leader, many people perceive it only as the place you go to purchase hardware.
With competitors such as Wal-Mart and Target occupying a similar space in our consumer’s minds, and knowing they were already shopping these competitors frequently, we needed to demonstrate that Best Buy offered more than just another place to buy a box.
Our strategy was to reposition Best Buy as a digital entertainment provider that connects people with every aspect of the digital world. To achieve this, we created Movie Mode – a combination of engaging content that is desirable to consumers, and offers a unique way for them to interact with it from Best Buy.
Simply put, our goal for Movie Mode was to change consumer perception and provide entertainment by creating an original way for moviegoers to more deeply experience and connect with movie content like never before.

Creative Execution
The Best Buy Movie Mode app allows moviegoers to see an extra layer of content right on their smartphone. “The Minionator” was the first-ever mobile app that synched with the movie (through patented sonic cue technology) to translate what the Minions were saying during the 3-D end credits of Despicable Me.
CP+B used multiple screens to guide moviegoers through the “Minionator” experience. TV, online and in-theatre (posters, standees, concessions) were used to drive downloads of the application. An in-lobby video instructed moviegoers how to use it, and an art card prior to the film prompted them to activate it. Movie Mode took it from there, automatically dimming the display and silencing the ringer. The phone would listen during the movie and wake up during the end credits to translate the characters on screen. After the end credits, the app also unlocked bonus content, continuing the experience beyond the theatre.

Results and Effectiveness
With a goal of 100,000 downloads, the Best Buy Movie Mode platform launched in June 2010 and as of January 2011, has generated over 460,000 downloads and more than half a million visits to BestBuyMovieMode.com. The Movie Mode App was ranked as high as #6 out of all apps within the entertainment category, and ranked #41 among free applications at the Apple App Store. Movie Mode has generated buzz across the movie industry, and has positioned Best Buy as an innovator and leader on the mobile app and entertainment space.